Taco Joint seeks to replicate success in River North

(Crain's) — The owners of Taco Joint are hoping to replicate the Lincoln Park restaurant's popularity with a second location set to open in June.

The new Taco Joint, at 3,600 square feet, will be twice as big as the original and just two blocks away from sister restaurant Zocalo in River North.

"Lincoln Park has done so well," said Edgar Castañeda, who co-owns the restaurants with his cousin, Marcos Castañeda. "People started asking if we would open another location. It was almost a no-brainer."

The first Taco Joint opened on North Halsted Street in February 2011. It quickly built a fan base for its $2 and $3 tacos.

Edgar Castañeda said he wasn't worried about being in the same building as Tavernita, which opened in January with chef Ryan Poli (formerly of Perennial).

"The building has close to 1,500 tenants and we plan to open for breakfast and do a successful lunch business," Mr. Castañeda said.

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